WINDSOR, Matt and Caitlin

Since 2018 Matthew and Caitlin Windsor have been serving with their family in Kingfisher Lake Nation, Ont., where local church leaders are spearheading a Bible translation in the Oji-Cree language. As a linguistics/translation facilitator, Matthew gives ongoing training to Oji-Cree translators, advises on the Bible translation, and helps the community plan how to keep their language strong. Together, the Windsors aim to serve God on mission faithfully as a family of six.

Both Caitlin and Matthew grew up in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, B.C., where they met at a local youth program. After his baptism as a young man, Matthew was intensely occupied with the question of how to reorient his passion for knowledge and bring it into the service of God’s kingdom. After a teacher recommended to him the field of linguistics, he discovered through one of his mentors that there was a highly practical need for this kind of work in God’s kingdom as applied to the worldwide need for Bible translation.

Over the following month God orchestrated three separate meetings with Wycliffe missionaries passing through his hometown, and he saw God’s hand so clearly affirming each step on the path toward this goal of making His Word known. After his marriage to Caitlin, Matthew grew confident that God was guiding them to work with indigenous communities within Canada. They joined Wycliffe in 2015 and after an internship in the community of Kawawachikamach, Que., they moved to Kingfisher Lake with their two children at the time. They are thankful to the community members of Kingfisher Lake, who have modelled a level of hospitality they were unprepared for.

This Bible translation project is part of the Oji-Cree church’s wider vision to bring the hope of new life to their children, and it’s hoped this collaboration will contribute to grass-roots reconciliation between indigenous communities and the wider church in Canada.

From the Oji-Cree translation team:

“Our team plans to continue to provide new Scriptures for the community each week, until all of God’s Word is available in our own language. We have plans for Oji-Cree versions of the prayer books and hymnals, as well as expanding the reach of the project into neighbouring communities, parishes, and languages.”